Have You Used Priceline.com?

Just so that you know, I am not affiliated with them at this time. I have thought about it because I have had such good success but I will let you know if that happens.

There IS a trick to it if you really want the best deal since they say you can only try once a day. Now to be honest, I have only used it for hotels and cars and have had two bad experiences. Out of those two, only one was because the front desk person on duty wasn’t being reasonable. The other was just a crappy hotel.

There are two different ways that you can use Priceline.

Choose a definite hotel at the price displayed.

Bid on the category (2-4 stars) and the max price you will offer.

I use it for the second option. It’s like a game and I have gotten some really good deals.

One particular city that we used to spend a lot of time in, I know exactly what to bid to get the same hotel every time. And, it’s a really good hotel. That one is the Holiday Inn Express in Charleston, WV. Nice, clean rooms, FREE hot buffet breakfast and FREE internet. If you are ever in Charleston, WV, you can select 2 1/2 stars for $42 and this should provide you with the same hotel.

OK, so here’s the idea. Once you are on http://www.priceline.com/, select the city, check-in and check-out dates and how many rooms you need then click on ‘search hotels now!’. This will show a list of hotels, where they are and what stars they are rated. Take note of the rating, their cost per night and which ones you prefer. Keep in mind that when you are bidding on a certain price, you are not guaranteed that hotel.

Then, click on the box in the upper right hand ‘Name Your Own Price’. The next screen will ask you which area you want to stay in and then the rating you want. Here’s where it get a little tricky. Do NOT get too hurried at this point. I suggest choosing one area and a star rating of just above what you actually would settle for. (The reason for this is the once every 24 hour rule.) After you choose those two things you will enter your name and a price. I usually enter my initials and 10% less than 1/2 of the lowest hotel room in my star range.

If some hotel accepts it (they have before) woo hoo! If not, no worries. This allows you to have a starting point. If it comes back with no takers, you can add a location OR a different star rating and a new price offer. Then, if still no takers, you can then choose the opposite of what you chose and a little bit higher $ amount. Now, if you have a differnt credit card that you can use, this ups your chances. If not, then be careful because you will have to wait for the next day.

These are not hard fast rules, just something I like to do. I also like Goodwill and spending many hours in the grocery store debating costs. 🙂 I can’t wait to try this when I go to Italy this summer. I know that you can use it for flights to but as a flight attendant, I don’t really need it.

Cars are the same. Pick the city, the dates and the price. It’s a bit different though that you have to deliver it to the same city. If you need a one way rental, then you need to go right through the cars website. And, as always, check out the websites to make sure that you don’t pay too much when you get a little overzealous about the bidding thing!

If anyone has used Priceline for packages or hotels, I definitely want to know. I would love to go on a cruise. Of course, I have a whole other website for cruises!